Designed by SAHA as a program of research, interaction and production for artists and curators, SAHA Studio offers its participants curatorial feedback, collaboration and learning opportunities through the contribution of SAHA’s domestic and international partnerships for 6 months.

In addition to the gatherings and meetings at its premises, the program contributes to the participants' collective learning and development by organizing research trips in and out of the city, and visits to exhibitions, collections, and workshops. SAHA hosts curators, writers and institution representatives from Turkey and abroad for different periods of time to work at SAHA Studio and interact with the Istanbul art scene and artists. Throughout the program, the artists share their processes with the audience through mid-term meetings, workshop visits and talks, and organize public events while exhibiting their works at SAHA Studio Open at the end of the semester. Founded at its initial space in Beyoğlu in 2019, SAHA Studio continues its program at its premises located at the 5th Block of the İstanbul Manifaturacılar Retail Center (İMÇ - İstanbul Manifaturacılar Çarşısı).

Opportunities provided by SAHA Studio

-- Own workspace and shared workshop at SAHA Studio for at least 6 months
-- Accommodation and transportation for participants invited from out of town
-- Artist honorarium
-- Production budget for research, publication, artwork production, events and exhibitions
-- Equipment and crew during production and installation
-- Curatorial, editorial, professional and legal advice
-- Participation in SAHA's art and learning programs

SAHA Studio Selection Process and Terms

The selections for SAHA Studio, to which five artists as well as a few writers and curators are invited each semester, are made by a three-member selection committee experienced in residency programs. The board, which selects the participants for two consecutive terms from approximately 35-40 portfolios proposed by the program's previous participants as well as independent art initiatives or curators collaborating within the scope of the SAHA Sustainability Fund, also acts as a consultant for the artists' projects and programs at SAHA Studio. While there are no specific medium or age criteria for the artists invited from the field of visual arts, attention is paid to the potential of the artists to benefit from SAHA Studio facilities, the interaction they will create at SAHA Studio through their individual and collective experiences, and to give opportunities to artists from outside Istanbul.

Launched in the summer of 2019, the program's participants were selected in its first year by a selection committee consisting of curator and educator Vasıf Kortun, artist Hera Büyüktaşçıyan, and curator Çelenk Bafra, founding director of SAHA Studio, based on proposals received from five art initiatives operating in different cities across Turkey. In 2021, the selection committee, composed of artist Gülsün Karamustafa, curator Özge Ersoy, and Çelenk Bafra, invited six independent curators from Turkey to nominate the first-year participants of the program, as well as six independent curators from Turkey.

The participants of SAHA Studio's June 2022 - March 2023 term were selected by the 17th Istanbul Biennial curators, Ute Meta Bauer, Amar Kanwar, David Teh; the co-editors of m-est.org (Özge Ersoy, Merve Ünsal) as the collaborators of the World Weather Network that SAHA has co-founded; and Çelenk Bafra. Invited as an official participant and venue of the biennial the same year, SAHA Studio opened its doors every Wednesday and Saturday during the biennial with a "timeline" of SAHA and SAHA Studio's archive, a selection of artist portfolios and videos, data mapping platforms, artist talks, speeches and panels.

Participants of SAHA Studio in 2023-2024 were invited by artist Ali Kazma, curator Kevser Güler and Çelenk Bafra, who received nominations from the eight independent initiatives supported by SAHA Sustainability Fund and the 2021 participants of the program.

1st TERM | August 2019 – February 2020
Larissa Araz
Alper Aydın
Özgür Demirci
Sibel Horada

2nd TERM | March 2020 – December 2020
Kerem Ozan Bayraktar
Borga Kantürk
Gülşah Mursaloğlu
Metehan Özcan
Dilek Winchester

3rd TERM | January 2021 – October 2021
Yasemin Nur
Onur Gökmen
Ege Kanar
Bengü Karaduman
Merve Ünsal

4th TERM | October 2021 – May 2022
Eser Epözdemir
Berat Işık
Ali Miharbi
İz Öztat 
TUNCA

5th TERM | June 2022 – December 2022/March 2023
Atıf Akın
Ahmet Öğüt & Silent University Orientation Program
Elmas Deniz
Can Küçük
Burcu Yağcıoğlu

6th TERM | March 2023 – October 2023
Cansu Çakar
Burak Delier
Merve Ertufan 
Burak Kabadayı
Evrim Kavcar

7th TERM | November 2023 - June 2024
Mehmet Ali Boran
İrem Günaydın
Gizem Karakaş
Merve Kılıçer
İrem Tok

8th TERM | June - December 2024
Hüseyin Aksoy
Betül Aksu
Kıymet Daştan
Nadir Sönmez
Zeynep Yılmaz